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Tuesday, 8 August 2017

Kia Super League 2017 is go.....

The second edition of the Kia Super Leagues T20 competition is ready to go.

KSL2 kicks off on Thursday 10th August with a rematch of last year's final between the Southern Vipers and the Western Storm at the Ageas Bowl. The competition was officially launched last night, although with many of the England players on a break and very few overseas players back in the UK it was a low-key affair.

Two internationals who were due to play have had to pull out through injury - Dane van Niekerk (Vipers) and Beth Mooney (Diamonds), but news has come in today that Mooney's replacement for Yorkshire will be Sri Lanka's Chamari Atapattu. This is great news for her and for Sri Lankan women's cricket.

Here are the full squad lists (15 players) and the possible starting XIs for each team, plus a look at their relative strengths and weaknesses.

Here are my (abridged) thoughts. A quick note first, you seem to be really flying the flag for the Thunder! There's no doubt they're much improved from last season but remember they finished bottom last time, and other squads have improved too. I generally agree with your other assessments but I'm not sure Diamonds will finish last, more like 4th or 5th. There will be less than 5 places between Thunder and Diamonds, the sides are closer matched than that. You seem to have forgotten that Diamonds have Armitage as well.

Thunder: Thunder really look to be significantly stronger than last season and should offer a much bigger challenge for a top 3 finish. This is a good thing, as they finished bottom of the pile last time out. They are one of the more nicely balanced sides now, and have a good mixture of youth and experience.Prediction: 4th

Lightning: After a solid showing in the first edition of KSL, in which they came third, Lightning 's squad for this year shows they remain a strong side, who could at their best put up a challenge for another appearance on finals day. However, they might not make it this time – the squad, whose England players didn't see much action in the world cup, hasn't been improved as much as some other teams.Prediction: 6th

Vipers: Vipers are the defending champions and look to be strong contenders again this year. They should be able to reach finals day, the main concern appears to be the lack of specialist bowlers available if any of the all-rounders start to spray it around. If they do concede more runs though, their spruced-up batting line-up might well be able to make up for it.Prediction: 2nd

Stars: Having just missed out to Lightning in qualification for last year's finals day, Stars will be looking to go one better this time around, and on paper it certainly appears that they have the squad for it. With some explosive batting and accurate wicket taking bowling available, Stars will be looking for a much improved performance this year, and should be serious contenders for the title.Prediction: 1st

Storm: After losing out to Vipers in the final last time out, Storm will be looking to make it to finals day once again and go that extra step to the title. They certainly have a capable squad, with a strong mix of solid and aggressive batsmen and some serious bowling to contend with too. It would be unwise to discount them from the final reckoning. Prediction: 3rd

Diamonds: After a disappointing first season, I'm hopeful that Diamonds will be much more competitive this year, and there's good reason to think that they will. Their squad is more in-form and potent this time out, with some of the strongest all-rounders in the league, and they are in with a decent shout of a qualification place if things go well. Prediction: 5th